I learned of my biopsy results and diagnosis not from a human, but an email of MyChart. Kind of impersonal, but after looking up what a Gleason score was ( mine was 3+4 stage 2) I didn't really have too many questions for my urologist about how to proceed. April will be my one year anniversary from the DaVinci robotic prostatectomy. Thank you for posting your videos. They were helpful for me as I prepared for my surgery and what to expect with recovery.
My first biopsy came back negative, which the urologist told me was 95% definitive that I didn’t have any prostate cancer. A subsequent negative biopsy would show with 98% certainty that I didn’t have cancer. I did have the second biopsy about 8 months later, and it did come back negative, but with some PIN, which is abnormal non-cancerous tissue. That unnerved me. It took an MRI guided biopsy (number 3) about a year later to find one core of a small amount of Gleason 6 tissue. Under a new urologist, I had two more biopsies, since I had opted for active surveillance. The 5th one found Gleason 4+3=7 tissue, so I shifted gears into more active treatment.
What was your active treatment and how did you make out? What’s your PSA relatively low during this time frame?Hope you’re doing fine right now Keith. James.
@@javar888 James, I found an experienced robotic laparoscopic surgeon to perform a radical prostatectomy. My PSA had kept rising even with the two negative biopsies, so further investigation was warranted. When they finally found Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6, I was well over the borderline PSA level of 4, which is the arbitrary level to seek treatment. I was still under PSA of 10 so an option for Gleason 6 was (at the time) active surveillance, which was just regular monitoring and annual biopsy. By the time I moved to a new Urologist, the PSA had crested 10, and two more biopsies confirmed low to medium grade cancer in a very small, contained portion of the gland. By the time I settled for surgery, my PSA had crested past 18! Had the surgery mid-July 2019. Doing well since recovery with, so far, undetectable PSA levels. I’m on two blood tests per year now. Feeling well and have full bladder control, though the urges are a little more insistent if I wait too long. Still recovering erectile function, which is the slowest recovery component. One discouraging side effect which wasn’t explained to me prior to surgery was the possibility of lymphedema due to the removal of lymph nodes in the central region. I was able to control this with regular professional lymphatic drainage massage and over-the-counter compression socks, and it forces me to keep active, which helps circulate the lymph.
@@keithwilson6060 Thanks Keith for your Information. After the removal , about a year later your PSA level started to rise and you took radiation? . I think that was your case . How are you making out now Sir ? Many thanks for your input and generosity - James
I learned of my biopsy results and diagnosis not from a human, but an email of MyChart. Kind of impersonal, but after looking up what a Gleason score was ( mine was 3+4 stage 2) I didn't really have too many questions for my urologist about how to proceed. April will be my one year anniversary from the DaVinci robotic prostatectomy.
Thank you for posting your videos. They were helpful for me as I prepared for my surgery and what to expect with recovery.
My first biopsy came back negative, which the urologist told me was 95% definitive that I didn’t have any prostate cancer. A subsequent negative biopsy would show with 98% certainty that I didn’t have cancer. I did have the second biopsy about 8 months later, and it did come back negative, but with some PIN, which is abnormal non-cancerous tissue. That unnerved me.
It took an MRI guided biopsy (number 3) about a year later to find one core of a small amount of Gleason 6 tissue. Under a new urologist, I had two more biopsies, since I had opted for active surveillance. The 5th one found Gleason 4+3=7 tissue, so I shifted gears into more active treatment.
Wishing you all the best on which ever treatment options. You move forward with. Keep fighting.
What was your active treatment and how did you make out? What’s your PSA relatively low during this time frame?Hope you’re doing fine right now Keith. James.
@@javar888
James, I found an experienced robotic laparoscopic surgeon to perform a radical prostatectomy. My PSA had kept rising even with the two negative biopsies, so further investigation was warranted. When they finally found Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6, I was well over the borderline PSA level of 4, which is the arbitrary level to seek treatment. I was still under PSA of 10 so an option for Gleason 6 was (at the time) active surveillance, which was just regular monitoring and annual biopsy. By the time I moved to a new Urologist, the PSA had crested 10, and two more biopsies confirmed low to medium grade cancer in a very small, contained portion of the gland. By the time I settled for surgery, my PSA had crested past 18! Had the surgery mid-July 2019. Doing well since recovery with, so far, undetectable PSA levels. I’m on two blood tests per year now. Feeling well and have full bladder control, though the urges are a little more insistent if I wait too long. Still recovering erectile function, which is the slowest recovery component.
One discouraging side effect which wasn’t explained to me prior to surgery was the possibility of lymphedema due to the removal of lymph nodes in the central region. I was able to control this with regular professional lymphatic drainage massage and over-the-counter compression socks, and it forces me to keep active, which helps circulate the lymph.
@@keithwilson6060 Thanks Keith for your Information. After the removal , about a year later your PSA level started to rise and you took radiation? . I think that was your case . How are you making out now Sir ? Many thanks for your input and generosity - James
@@javar888
You’re probably thinking of the owner of this channel, Chris Hartley. So far, no radiation for me.
Thanks so much for this channel.
love ur tshirt where did you get it